Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a node (e.g., a transmission station) and a wireless device (e.g., a mobile device). Some wireless devices communicate using orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) in a downlink (DL) transmission and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) in an uplink (UL) transmission. Standards and protocols that use OFDM modulation for signal transmission include the third generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard (e.g., 802.16e, 802.16m), which is commonly known to industry groups as WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access), and the IEEE 802.11 standard, which is commonly known to industry groups as WiFi.
In 3GPP radio access network (RAN) LTE systems, the node can be a combination of Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node Bs (also commonly denoted as evolved Node Bs, enhanced Node Bs, eNodeBs, or eNBs) and Radio Network Controllers (RNCs), which communicates with the wireless device, known as a user equipment (UE). The downlink (DL) transmission can be a communication from the node (or eNodeB) to the wireless device (or UE), and the uplink (UL) transmission can be a communication from the wireless device to the node.
A wireless device can include a human-oriented wireless device (e.g., human operated wireless device), a machine type communication (MTC) device, and/or a machine-to-machine (M2M) device. The human operated wireless device can include a computing device configured with a interface to be operated by a human operator capable of wireless digital communication such as a smart phone, a tablet computing device, a laptop computer, a multimedia device such as an iPod Touch®, or other type computing device that provides text or voice communication. A MTC or M2M device can include a sensor and/or a processor configured to automatically access and communicate wirelessly with a RAN. As used herein, MTC and M2M may be used interchangeably.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.